MacIver Investigation Update – Legislators Upset over University Involvement in Left-Wing Conference

Grothman Calls for “non-vital departments” to be defunded

MacIver News Service | July 25, 2013

[Madison, Wisc…] Republican legislators called out the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Technical Colleges (WTC) for their involvement in the left-leaning Fighting Forward conference after the MacIver News Service reported that taxpayer resources might have been used.

The MacIver News Service reported on Wednesday that multiple UW academic departments co-sponsored the conference and 15 faculty members from UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, UW-Oshkosh, the UW-Extension School for Workers, Madison Area Technical College, and Milwaukee Area Technical College led workshops.

Patrick Barrett, Administrative Director of UW-Madison’s Havens Center, helped organize the conference and said during the event, “no public funds were spent on this summit.” After reports that this statement was likely inaccurate, Representative Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) told the MacIver News Service (MNS) that the investigation “proves the ‘no public money claim’ by UW-Madison officials was, at a minimum, inaccurate, but more likely a calculated deception.”

Nass said that it was unfortunate that officials at the UW System and WTC that are paid by taxpayers would use their positions to promote their own ideological ideas and called for something to be done.

“The Governor and the Legislature must find the courage to directly address these abuses of academic freedom by extremists employed within our public institutions of higher learning,” Nass said.

Senator Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) agreed with Nass and called for changes at the University of Wisconsin.

“It’s deeply disturbing that one more time the University is caught with a hard left-wing bias, particularly in light of the Rebecca Blank scandal. It’s also disturbing that entire departments would go on record supporting this agenda,” Grothman told MNS. “This confirms there is very little oversight on departments and the Regents should crack down on hiring practices.”

The MacIver Institute is continuing to investigate this event, and others, to find out exactly what taxpayers are paying for at the UW System and WTC.

Grothman told MNS because of this revealing investigation that, “in the interim, departments that are not vital to the university should be defunded.”